With or with out the mask
by Maxx Goodnight
Summary: Marinettes been hurt and its gonna be something else
1. Chapter 1

A little inspirations in a short chapter

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Marinette laid on her bed her hair out her signature pigtails and tiki napping beside her on a pillow. Adrien had left school for his dad's business in New York for months , to top it of she hadn't seen Hyde or hair of Chat Noir and taking care of Paris by herself. So Marinette was feeling a bit different as of late. After two months Marinette had a hard time dealing with herself which eventually she realized her and Ladybug were the same and it really helped raising her confidence to be more outgoing. Her style was all her own now and it felt great to be brave and strong outside of her costume.

She traded her pigtails and let her short black hair grow out quite alot she now wears a darker make up set a black wing with a deep maroon shadow and nude pink matte lip. Away with her boing outfit Marinette usually wears a black leather jacket with some kind of red shirt , ripped jeans of whatever color she felt that day astudded belt and black thigh high chunky Heeled combat boots. Her stud earings on her always and ger pink bag switched with a box clutch attached to her belt that helped out not shaking tiki around so much.

Today she adored a red long sleeve crop top with high waisted blue jeans and her new typical accessories ,Marinette had gotten up earlier than normal today and she still had time before school so she decided to let tiki rest a little more after these last few weeks they had been stressed out during night patrols just being by themselves meant no back up and it kept Ladybug on edge.

Getting up and grabbing her backpack and gently scooping up tiki and laying her in her side clutch she made her way down stairs on her way to school. Marinette kissed her parents good bye and made her way to school. School had definitely changed for her, with her new confidence came a new attitude thay occasionally got her in trouble especially when it came to Chloe Bourgeois. Who didnt even bother to attempt any kind of niceness anymore so as Marinette saw it she could care less what Chloe had to say. But that didn't stopl her temper.

Alya was extremely supportive of Marinettes' changes becuase they made her friend happy and she got over Adrien to be more comfortable as herself. However deep down she knew she still held adrien in her heart. So when Marinette sat next to her she didn't change her views of the secret hero. However she did feel kinda giddy for her friend today and was practically shaking in her seat. Marinette gave her friend a look that basically said "your fucking weird i wanna know whatd going on but im sure your gonna tell me later" she put in her head phone's listening to Jagged Stone.

Marinette knew something was up so why when she was sketching in her design book did she not notice the familiar blond student take a seat in front of her did she not react. At least not react until Alya flipped her chair to the side cuasing Marinette to crash on the floor. "Really Marinette could you not be so clumsy in front of Adrikins on his first day back" Chloe spat not knowing the secret ladybug hadn't heard anything past clumsy. Marinette angrily stood up and got extremely close to chloes face.

"Look here you pompous spoiled bi-" Marinette started before Alya grabbed her covering her mouth and pulling her back to her seat before she made a scene. Chloe smirked and luaghed as she went to her seat. The red heroin frowned at her friend who apologized immensely before she heard "Marinette?" She turns and it was sight for sore eyes, "Adrien Agreste in the flesh" she said completely,no stuttering or mispronouncations, "its been awhile hasn't it" a small friendly smirk on her face.

Adrian felt excited to walk back into the school and the minute he did it there andwas no surprise to him that Chloe found him instantly and clung to his side. The familiar surroundings made Adriens chest burst with excitement. New York was nice but Adrien loved Paris. Adrien had been back for two days now and his first day he spent the whole day at his moms' grave and going over what excuse he was gonna tell Lady bug.

He'd even gone as far to buy three dozen roses one for his mom ,one for Ladybug and one for Marinette . He laid white roses on his moms grave and told her everything that had happened over the last year or so . He bought pink ones for Marinette becuase when he left he had started developing feelings for her and they had become spite close dispite her stutters they actually had alot in common and when he left he had been kinda rude to her and it wasn't right of him to do that. The last bouquet was red roses for Ladybug as a way of apologizing for Chat Noirs disappearance ,he was hoping to catch her on patrol tonight.

However Adrien was in for a big surprise when he saw how stunning Marionette looked and suddenly roses didn't seem like enough to apologize for his actions. His first day back and his first time seeing her outside of her usual outfit. He smirked his chat noir side showing slightly "aww princess you still mad at me?" He felt his heart flutter as her face turned red and marched right into his face "you. Mister Build me up and break me down do not get the privilege of calling me anything" the young designer growled as she poked her finger in his chest. 'Did i hurt her that bad?' The kitten hero thought before saying "Allow me make it up to my lady then"as he pulled the bouquet of pink roses from behind his back.

Marinette was shocked to say the least butqq 1 she refued to show it on her face despite the looks and gasps from her fellow classmates. "Your lady?" She said irately watching as Adriens smrik fell,"you have alot of nerve calling me that,you think i can be won over by some cheap trick. You had better watch yourself Agreste. I dont cave so easily so before we can even be friends again you got alot to fix."she grabbed her bag and waved to Alya before she stomped out of the class room leaving everyone in awe.

So there stood Adrien flowers in his hand and all eyes on him. "Who does she think she is Adrikins? Making up lies about you dont you worry I'll have daddy take care of her". Chloe said pulling out her phone. "She wasn't lying." Adrien said under his breath before running after Marinette. His sudden disappearance made Chloe drop her phone in shock


	2. Chapter 2

Okay so chapter 2

Being class President had its perks and one of them was her ability to leave whenever she wanted no questions asked. So when Marinettes' feet carried her out if the school and home, nobody stopped her. Tikki flew out of her bag as Marinette dropped her bag on the floor and plopped down in her desk chair. "Marinette are you okay? " the red kwami asked from on top her desk. She couldn't help but smile down at her friend " yes tikki i'm okay, I just don't want to go back today, I can study tonight so I won't be behind anyway."

The kwami flew into her lap "Marinette you know you can tell me anything. I'm always here to talk." The girl smiled and booped her red friends nose. "Tikki how about we go to the beach today, I'll pack us some yummy snacks and we can go have fun. I'll even text Alya and have her meet us there after school so she won't worry." Marinette smiled sending a quick text to her best friend as Tikki flew around giggling. Marinette quickly changed into a black bikini with a pair of jean shorts and a red hoodie on top with a pair of plain white converse, made a picnic and a beach bag before walking down stairs on her way to the beach.

Adrien lost her as he tried to run out of the school but ended up getting caught by the Principal, , and was walked back to his class. Alya looked at him sadly as he sat in his seat she felt bad for him almost. She bit her lip as she read Marinettes text and sighed before leaning over to the two boys in front " Adrien are you okay? " she asked. The model turned around and smiled softly at the girl " I'll be fine Alya thank you." Alya smiled back "Adrien would you and Nino like to go to the beach with me after school?" ,hiding the fact that her BFF was going to be there as well.

School went by fast and Adrien didn't even bother going home to get beachwear he didn't even own and bought new things for himself meeting up at Alyas before they headed to the beach. The trio walked to the beach together Alya and Nino catching the model up on everything he had missed lately as they stepped onto the warm sand "ALYA!" The group all turned to the ocean and Adrien started to sport a deep blush, his eyes turned to the voice. Marinette running out of the ocean, her long hair flowing behind her with salt water making her skin glow her, black bikini fit perfectly and Adrien felt his chest just about burst as she ran up to them. "Hey guys!" She smiled not even looking at him.

Alya who chose to wear her regular flannel unbuttoned over a orange halter bikini top with orange shorts and simple white flip flops, Nino had on his usual gear, just trading out his jeans for swim trucks, while adrian had bought a pair of black swim trunks and leaving his white shirt unbuttoned and his sneakers in his hands while his other clothes, a towel and sunscreen, in his backpack on his shoulder. His eyes never leaving Marinettes' figure, even though she wouldn't look his way.

"Marinette how are you?" Alya said, hugging her wet friend. Marinette smiled throwing her red hoodie on saying, "Oh you know me, the water called and I found the biggest scoop tonight there's gonna be the best party." Alya shook her head and smiled, "Marinette you are always finding these crazy parties." Marinette smiled and sat in the sat the other three settling down beside her. "Oh you guys hungry I packed a picnic. " the secret ladybug themed heroine said, opening a basket filled with freshly baked goods from her parents bakery.

Adrien felt his mouth water it had been months since he had one of the Dupain-Changs delicious croissants. Alya noticed his eyes glued to the flakey goodness and quickly passed him one. Marinettes mind was racing 'why hasn't he said anything about earlier?' she asked herself. Glancing at the model, who had hummed in enjoyment, as he ate the croissant and she couldn't hold back the soft smile. And then it happened, Adrien decided that was the most opportune moment to look up, and they made eye contact. Both froze, eyes dead locked on each other, neither able to break their trance.

Alya decided that was the perfect time for her and Nino to slip away unnoticed. Adrien leant closer to her shifting the sand under him and Marinette tried to look away, her self control failing her. "Mari... I really am sorry.. I know it doesn't change the fact that I just left things the way they were. There were things I shouldn't have said, I was angry, But that isn't an excuse for my behavior or my actions, I should have told you. I shouldn't have left.." The model started breaking the silence between them." I'm really sorry". Marinette really wanted to accept his apology but deep down, she knew it was going to be extremely hard to truly forgive him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Marinette looked at Adrien, her eyes showing uncertainty, she wanted to take his apology but she knew she would be just another notch in his belt. Adrien however thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Marinette just stared at him, he had no idea what was running through her mind. "You hurt me... more than that you knew my secret, just like I know yours, Chat Noir." The fashion designer all but growled. Adrien felt guiltier than ever, his head hung low as she continued.

"You know we were a team and I was stuck here alone to defend Paris by myself. The first time, I was so in over my head, I used lucky charm and you know what I got, " the model looked up at her sadly. " I got a Chat Noir clone that disappeared once it was over. I am not supposed to do it on my own, but I did because people needed me, needed us." Marinette stood up and started walking down the empty beach.

Adrien wanted to drown himself now, he's pretty sure he would have had a explosion not gone off behind him. Rushing to his feet Adrien searched the beach for Marinette as he watch Alya and Nino takeoff running towards him. "Adrien come on, we have to go to safety there's a akuma attack, Ladybug will take care of it. "Alya said pulling on the models arm. "I gotta go find Marinette you guys go to safety we'll meet up at the party tonight. I gotta find her!" Adrien yelled as he ran towards the direction Marinette ran.

He ran until he found a safe place to transform before using his staff to scale a building, knowing that ladybug is already there, he ran as fast his legs could carry him. Then the sounds stopped and people were cheering and there stood a women in red talking to the press. She was stunning, she looked like his Ladybug only different.

Instead of a red suit with black dots this new look was different,not enough to be unrecognizable but different. She wore thigh high black boots with a red and black suit but instead of pants, she wore shorts, with elbow length black fingerless gloves, her ladybug yoyo clipped onto the thick black belt around her waist her hair was still in pigtails and her red and black mask the same. He watched silently hiding behind the building as his princess smiled for the crowd before she flew off east.

Chat Noir followed her all the way back to the now completely empty beach and untransformed behind a bench. Hiding behind a wall Adrien returned into himself and walked up behind Marinette, a frown presented on his face as she faced away from him, looking through the bag she had left behind. "What was that Marinette?"the model all but growled. Putting her shirts over her bikini bottoms she spoke,"That was Ladybug doing her job,saving the city of Paris." Adrien was dumbfounded to say the least. He watched as she put on her shoes and walked off, he was lost in his thoughts for a couple seconds, before grabbing his backpack and ran after her. He gently grabbed her arm and held her in place. His grip on her arm wasn't tight enough to cause pain but firm enough to stop her.

"Marinette you know what I mean, we are a team. I know I have been gone for awhile but I am back now ,we do things together." Pulling her arm free Marinette poked his chest her voice harsh,"Me and Tikki are a Team, you on the other hand are about a hundred things I can't even begin to name."her arm gaining a mind of its own, she smacked the model across the face. Marinette could not believe herself,nor could she believe the words she said, the words that had just came out of her mouth,"I am not sure we can ever be a team if I can't trust you. Goodbye " Before taking off in a full sprint towards an alley where she transformed into ladybug and made her way home as fast as possible with tears burning her eyes.

Dropping into her room saying "spots off" to detransform, she fell onto her bed tears flowing freely. Tikki floated down and laid next to her on the pillow. "Tikki I should have kept my mouth shut."she said kicking her shoes off and sliding under her blanket. She watched out her window her chest tightening as she let the tears flow, her makeup burning her eyes.

Adrien was left in shock, first she slapped him, well he should have seen that coming, he did grab her arm. But she called him and said she couldn't trust him, he had to try harder. He quickly transformed into Chat Noir and made his way home to change into something nice for the party. He put on black converse with .a nice pair of blue jeans with a black button shirt, his sleeves rolled up. "Are you sure you know what your doing kid?", Plagg asked eating a slice of Camembert. The model sighed" I hope so Plagg" as the Kwami flew into his shirt pocket. Adrien ran out of the house as he only had about 3 hours to get everything he needed.

Marinette laid in bed for a hour listening to Jagged Stone her mind racing before getting out of bed and taking a shower. Letting the hot water wash the salt off her skin from the ocean and relieve her of the stress she had accumulated throughout the day. Once out she dried off and dressed for the party. The attire she had chosen was black ripped high waisted jeans with a white crop top with spaghetti straps that crossed to make a star in the front with a deep red leather jacket. She put on a dark wing and deep red Lipstick and sat down at her vanity and was currently curling her hair when she heard a knock in her bed room. Guessing it was her mother she called out "its open." Finishing up and turning around she turned to face one Adrien Agreste.

"What do you want?" She growled. Adrien pulled out a dozen roses, this time he had beautiful full red roses and a small red box. The model already felt uneasy she had taken his posters down, her favorite brand Gabriel, nowhere in sight, so the fact that he had enough courage to continue was slightly surprising "I want you to listen to me Marinette, please, just a minute of your time." Marinette felt a bit of sadness pool around her as she looked at her former crush and she simply nodded. This was his third time trying so she figured she had to give him a chance to explain himself. Not only that but she wasn't going to cry about it anymore anyway.

Adrien handed her the flowers which she took hesitantly,"Marinette, I know I left just when me and you were actually understanding each other. When i found out you were Ladybug I couldn't be any happier." He stepped closer and got on his knees holding the red box tightly. "Mari I love you even now after months apart, I never meant to hurt you. We're a team, if I could have stayed then I would have. I got upset with you because you cared about me, and I regret not apologizing to you before I left. I've felt so guilty and I've hated myself the whole time." Marinette felt her heart break as he took her hand."Marinette can we please start over? Could you forgive an alley cat like me, please." Marinette smiled, she wanted to be mad, but she felt a pull towards him and she just couldn't help herself.

"Oh I suppose I can forgive you kitty." Adrien smiled and picked her up, hugging her and spinning around. "Thank you Marinette!" He exclaimed his whole being filled to the brim with joy. He set her back down and handed her the red box "what is this ?"the designer asked before opening it to reveal a charm bracelet that held an Eiffel tower, a ladybug, a pawprint and the letter 'M' charms. Marinette looked at the beautiful bracelet astonished. "Today marks the 3 year anniversary of Chat Noir and Ladybug, I wanted to get you something special."Adrien blushed. She smiled as she put it on, giggling as she said, "I nearly forgot, I'm sorry i didn't get you anything. I wasn't even sure I would see you again."

Adrien hugged her gently and smiled softly "Marinette no matter what I'm always coming back to my Lady. Now if it's okay with my lady I would like to be her escort to what I hear is gonna be a super awesome party. " Marinette smiled and grabbed his hand leading him out of her house.


End file.
